"kiddy corner" was: Folk etymology definition

Arnold M. Zwicky zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU
Sat Mar 8 17:06:54 UTC 2008

On Mar 8, 2008, at 8:26 AM, Gerald Cohen wrote:

> Last week a student sent me written directions about how to get to a
> particular building, which he said (wiith no humor intended) was
> "kiddy corner across the street from..."

notes on variants of "cater(-)corner" below (awaiting a write-up for
Language Log).  i hadn't thought of "kiddy-corner(ed)" at the time.
now i've googled on "kiddy-cornered" (which also pulls in
"kiddycornered" and "kiddy cornered"): 87 raw hits.  11,300 hits for
"kiddy(-)corner", but most of them are irrelevant (shops named Kiddy
Corner and the like).  but {"kiddy-corner from"} gets a respectable
2,300 hits, though that still puts it almost at the bottom of the list
of variants -- above "cat(t)acorner" but below "cater(-)corner".
(note that "kitty(-)corner" and "catty(-)corner" win over the
original, "cater(-)corner".)



1/26/07: suggested by EDZ

1/27/07: 256 hits for caddy-cornered; 29,200 for caddy-corner, but
many involve actual caddies

catty(-)cornered: 19,800
catty(-)corner: 66,700 (incl. some referring to cats)

catacornered: 119
catacorner: 843

cattacornered: 2
cattacorner: 12

[none for ca(d)dacornered or ca(d)dacorner; but Googler suggests
catacorner for cadacorner, and caddycorner for caddacorner; so maybe
not entirely flapping]

kitty(-)cornered: 10,600
kitty(-)corner: 214,000 (incl. some referring to cats)

cater(-)cornered: 14,500
cater(-)corner: 24,500

summary: -corner over -cornered for all types, including the non-
standard spellings and the caddy- variants; for corner, it’s kitty-
over catty- over cater-; for -cornered, it’s catty- over cater- over
kitty-, but the figures are close; kitty-corner seems to be the winner

from the dictionaries:


catty-cornered: another term for cater-cornered
[no catty-corner entry]

kitty-corner: another term for cater-cornered
[no kitty-cornered entry]

cater-cornered (also cater-corner or catty-cornered or kitty-corner)


catty-cornered or catty-corner: Variants of cater-cornered

kitty-cornered or kitty-corner: Variants of cater-cornered

cater-cornered: also catty-corner or catty-cornered or catty-corner or
kitty-cornered or kitty-corner



The Maven’s Word of the Day, 9/2/96:


Larry Zirlin writes:

Would you say that "kitty corner" from "cater-corner" meaning "placed
at the diagonal" is an example of folk etymology, like "piggyback" and
"bridegroom"? Do you think it's somehow mixed up with "caterwaul,"
which translates as "cat wailing?"

[answer] Yes, kitty-corner 'on a diagonal line; in a diagonal
position' is an excellent example of a folk etymology. Folk etymology,
as we remember from previous discussions about piggyback and
wheelbarrow, is the process of altering an uncommon word or element to
conform it to one that's better known.

The original form, as you say, was catercorner, which is still the
usual term. The "cater" element in this term is from the English
dialect word cater, meaning 'diagonally', which is from an obsolete
word meaning 'four', which eventually goes back to quattuor, the Latin
word for 'four'. This "cater" also turns up, in modified form, in the
word catawampus 'crooked; askew'. The "corner" is our familiar word
"corner." Since the "catercorner" form is obscure, it developed many
variants, including kitty-corner, catty-corner, and others.

Catercorner is not related to caterwaul, the elements of which do mean
'cat wailing': the assumption that the "cater" in "catercorner" means
'cat' is exactly what gives rise to the folk-etymology form "kitty-
corner" in the first place. The existence of a word where "cater"
actually does mean 'cat' is a coincidence--one which may strengthen
the folk etymology, but a coincidence nonetheless.

The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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